After We're Done
by Witknee
Summary: Tony Michelle Kinda AU S2 Michelle and Tony alone at the office one night... Oh the possibilities.


"After We're Done"

Rating: Moderate to Heavy T... for sex and language.

Disclaimer: They're not mine, they belong to 24 and Fox.

Author's Note: This is AU, probably set at the beginning of S2. The kiss, the asking out hasn't happened... Danny doesn't exist :).I have barely any knowledge of NY. I've only been there once. Apologies to the natives. Also, I'm still working on "Questions of Finality", I just got to the point in the story where it was KILLING me that T/M aren't ravishing each other all the effing time (the sexual tension of the story is killing ME and I'm the author of the story, lol)... so, this is my little brainchild to fulfill my kissing quota for the time being. After writing this, I will get back to it. And as always... **Please feel free** to leave feedback and tell me what you think.

-

Neither were sure about who had made the first move. It was muddled in both of their minds, blurred by lust and time and circumstance. Lips had fused together with little thought, little breath, little musings of consequence or worry about who or what else inhabited the room.

-

Work wasn't something that either of them overly enjoyed, it was just something they did. They had both gotten involved in it for similar reasons: to help people, to protect and serve a country that they loved, but the circumstances that led to their work field of choice were hardly the same.

Tony Almeida had been brought up with a strong sense of patriotism from his father, a Spanish immigrant, who had come from Valencia to Chicago in search of a new and better life for his family of four. At his spurring, Tony had enlisted in the military, the Navy to be precise, young and had then gone on to earn many honors- much to his father's glee. He had studied while enlisted, earned a degree in Computer Sciences and Criminal Justice, and once he was done serving had been offered the job as third in command at CTU. At first he had blanched at the offer- he had never been the type of person to be intrigued by any sort of desk job. The people at CTU, however, had actively pursued him, going so far as to give him a tour of the facility, Lakers tickets... and a hefty sign-on bonus. Tony, who had worked his way through high school and college, could hardly get past the figures themselves, but at the end of the day, he had finally admitted to himself that perhaps at the age of twenty-six it was time to settle down a bit, to have a steady and relatively stress-free job, to start a family.

Today, he laughs at the naïve and misguided youth that he was. The "stress-free job" wasn't stress free at all, quite the opposite, and he hadn't even had a girlfriend at the time when he had decided to have a family. Everything had seemed so simple back then, so silver-lined and neatly folded. He was ignorant at twenty-six, too trusting of people. It landed him in messes, one huge one that he could recall vividly- a mess named Nina Myers, a woman that he had thought he's loved. He knows now that it wasn't even close to love, only affection, clouded by that emotion, that need and want to start a family.

Michelle Dessler had been brought up differently than her colleague. She had been a born and raised New Yorker, through and through. As an only child to two bohemians, free thought and expression had been encouraged, possibly even enforced when she was little. They lived in a flat just outside Burberry. Her mother was a chef, her father a freelance writer. He had been talented, but had often foregone any large-scale publications when the offers had come. He instead focused on small, more independent ones dedicated to political activism, environmental concerns and the advocation of the arts. She had grown up a happy child, immersed in a city of rich and vast culture, basking in the attention that she received from her parents. They had been loving,had always provided her with whatever she needed. She had her father wrapped around her finger growing up- "anything 'Chelle wanted, 'Chelle got" was his policy, and she took full advantage of the policy as much as she could. But she knew her boundaries, knew enough even as a child how far her father would bend for her backwards before she would stop. She wasn't selfish, wasn't overly needy, only a young girl who knew how to take full advantage of her father's attention.

When she began high school, she had started to show interest in the very thing that her parents hated: technology, Science, structure. They had been beside themselves whenever she told them that she wanted to go into the field of Computer Sciences, wanted to serve her country. Her father had had a particularly rough time taking the news acknowledging that she, of course, had a right to choose what her lot in life would be, had a right to choose what would make her happy, but could not help but be disappointed. He had dreams of his little girl growing up as a leader, as a great thinker of her time, someone who would save the world from famine and destruction.

Little did he know that she had similar things in mind whenever she signed on at CTU.

After college, where she finished in the top ten percentile of her class, she was almost immediately snatched up by Division's New York chapter. There she worked up the ranks from being a low level analyst to finally being near the top. Only fourth down from command in her building, she had caught wind of the opening in the CTU: LA chapter and had jumped at the offer. She was eager to get out, to see and feel the world around her, to have a change for the first time in her life. The job offer, after the interview via satellite, came quickly, prompted by the recent vacancy of a crew member. Apparently, a mole had been discovered and had left their sector relatively fragile and they wanted the fragility strengthened as soon as possible.

She didn't know the story when she had gotten on the plane to set up a new apartment for herself, to view the facilities, but she certainly knew within the first week. A woman who was second in command had betrayed the country, herself, her ex-lover, who had been the first agent in command, and her boyfriend at the time, the third agent in command. Which was why the position had become available to her in the first place. She didn't know much about the men betrayed, only thought them to be idiots for trusting such an obviously maladjusted and calculating woman. It wasn't until that she met Him, one of the betrayed, that she realized that the mole really had been crazy... the man was gorgeous. All notions of idiocy and preconceived visions of the incompetence of this man rushed out of her mind as his voice reached her ears, as his hand went out to meet hers halfway by way of greeting. Everything changed when she met him.

-

She gasped, her hands moving from the sides of his face to twine around his neck, to travel into his hair. She raked her fingers along his back, grasped at his shirt, anything she could get her hands on as he plundered her mouth. Between kisses, she mumbled incoherently, apologizing in earnest for her brazen, unprofessional behavior. The mumbling ceased as his tongue swept into her mouth, as he tugged on her bottom lip gently with his teeth and then moved his mouth to her neck. She took a sharp intake of breath and threw her head back, panting.

-

He had been cold in the beginning, not necessarily harsh, just distant. As she settled into her new position, she began to accurately piece the story of his betrayal together from her fellow co-workers, mostly the females. Apparently, this agent, this Tony Almeida, was excellent at what he did, had served his country to the best of his ability- he had made only a mistake that many in his position would make: he trusted a person that he had grown to care for. She felt badly for judging him, but had always kept her first impression of him to herself. Her first impression had been very wrong.

She was a professional, and that showed through throughout the next couple of months. Before long, Tony's initial iciness had melted away, and underneath everything, he was a good man. He was level-headed, a good leader... and he genuinely cared about the people that he worked with.

Some more than others.

He wasn't sure when he had actually thought of Michelle as more than a colleague, as more than a person that he worked with. Somehow, she had become a friend. They talked before they clocked in, after they clocked out, had exchanged phone numbers "out of practicality", or "just in case", but Tony had never actually called her. He hadn't worked up the courage, hadn't found the right thing to say...

He had only a slight inkling as to when he fell in love with her. He thinks, still today, that it was when, after twenty-six hours of work, after she had been off, she had gone straight to his favorite bakery, which he usually went to every morning before work, and had brought him breakfast and coffee, knowing he hadn't eaten anything all day and would likely not get out of there for another large chunk of the day.

She didn't given it to him in person, for fear of embarrassment, of course Michelle Dessler wasn't good at hiding her blush at all, but instead had placed it on his desk, a note pinned to the bag, signed with her delicate, scrawling script. She left immediately after, her heart pounding in her chest, and had gone home to place her tired body firmly on her bed.

As he ate the breakfast, even though it was in haste, he smiled at the note she had left him, could almost hear her saying the words in his head.

"Thought you could use a little pick-me- up after today. Just between you and me, boss, you were looking a little worn around the edges. Hope this helps.

Your humble servant,

-Michelle"

She was right, he hadn't gotten out for another five hours... but directly after he did, he called her for the first time. He knew she wouldn't be awake yet, had left a message on her answering machine and had thanked her for her thoughtfulness. He hoped that the smile on his face would bleed through the tone of his voice onto the machine's tape.

-

The sounds of their shallow breathing echoed in the empty halls of the building. Quiet surrounded them, making the sounds expelled from their mouths all the more profound and surreal. She felt her blood begin to boil in her veins, began to feel liquid heart begin to build low in her stomach... and pool in between her legs. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with her intake of breath, her head thrown back as he assaulted the place where her should met her neck. The feelings coursing through her, the lust and excitement, nearly overwhelmed her and she felt her legs going weak. She wanted his lips on hers again, put her hands on his face, pulled his lips over so they could meet her own. With a dominance she didn't know she possessed, she kissed him fiercely, her tongue going over the seam of his lips before breaking through to tangle and twist with his own. She felt herself moving from the area that they were in, in the middle of George Mason's office floor, pushing him backwards, their lips still fused and tangled together.

-

Their relationship had escalated from there to one of close friendship. They did things often, platonicly of course, from going out for coffee to just simply talking of their favorite things. The attraction between them grew, but so did their denial of said attraction. Tony because of his prior experience with dating a co-worker, and Michelle because of his past... she wasn't afraid of him. Quite the contrary, actually, just afraid that because of his past that he would reject her and all that they had built in the past six months they had worked together. Everything had been escalating... and it all eventually came to a peak that evening.

The workers had long since gone home, their tasks finished after a relatively slow day, but they had both been elected to stay after and go over reports, debriefings, and various other tasks to tie up any loose ends on their side. She had called in for Chinese and they had gotten underway with little preamble. An hour passed without any interruption, save for the arrival of the food. Not two hours later, a little after nine, they were done. As they were packing their things, they began to tease each other lightly over something, something that didn't even register with them anymore. He had reached out to hit her lightly in a joking manner, she had caught his hand mid-jab... Their fingers had locked together automatically. She went to look down at them, alarmed and intrigued at the electricity that his touch brought her. When she'd looked up, he was much closer than she remembered. Her eyes had grown heavy then, dropping to his lips. They swayed toward each other... no one knowing who had gone the farthest, who had initiated the kiss. It didn't matter to either of them. All that mattered was that their lips had found each other.

-

He felt his legs hit the back of the couch, felt her push him back onto it. They fell onto it together, one on top of the other. As they tumbled, their lips broke apart suddenly as she laughed from the jolt of falling. He smiled at the humor of the situation- they were making out in the middle of their boss' office in the middle of the night. He and... Her eyes met his again and the humor was lost to both of them. In a moment of strange realization, he focused in on their position. They were lying back on George's couch, the plush leather bending slightly under his and Michelle's weight. Michelle lay on top of him, eyes sparkling, yet serious.. filled with...

Their lips met halfway, again and again. Hands wandered, went under clothing, stroked and scratched at bare skin. His shirt was off before he had a chance to realize it, and hers followed it to the ground soon after. He flipped them over in a characteristic display of dominance, and his lips found the same spot on her neck he had been so focused on earlier. Time passed and clothes were shed, their bodies explored without words. Only when the last barriers were left did he begin to question their actions, only then did he voice his concerns.

She looked at him then, put her hand lovingly on his cheek, eyed him with a look of raw need, with a watery expression of love and lust and affection and spoke.

"Tony," she said, her voice shaking and raw with emotion, "I.. I, I want this. God, I think I need this. You have... God, Tony," she gasped, her eyes closing as she prepared herself to say what she wanted him to hear.

"I love you." She whispered. She kissed him then, a gentle and reverent simple touching of lips.

His face became serious and he broke the kiss. She looked vulnerable, her brown eyes large. He opened his mouth to speak, but she caught his lips in a passionate kiss, urging him on in her actions. He entered her seconds later, spurred on by her gentle gasps, her words of affection. He felt her nails on his back, could feel the love he felt for this woman rise and crest. He felt the ecstasy build within him, felt hers begin to rise as well. Long moments later, he felt her quiver around him, heard her shout of completion. He followed her, tumbled down with her into pleasure and silence. In a tangle of arms and legs, they lay there for several moments, sweaty and panting. He brought his hand up to her face, pushed sweat laden curls out of her face gently. He kissed her lips softly, then kissed her closed eyelids until she opened them.

He told her what he felt then, told her of how he loved her. He felt her tears run down her cheeks as he described to her how she made him feel. They laid there even after that, basking only in each other, until Tony's cell phone rang. He clamored to find his pants, got to the phone just in time. He answered it in his usual fashion and felt his heart leap into his throat when he realized it was Mason.

Fears were alleviated, however, as George simply asked how work was going, how it was all working out. With a smile, Tony looked at Michelle, still lying there, watching him with interest.

"Work is great." he said, his eyes flickering over Michelle's body. "Couldn't be better."

George thanked him for putting in extra hours, said his goodbyes and hung up. Tony turned the phone off afterwards, climbed back onto the couch and wrapped him arms around Michelle.

She turned to him, ran her fingers through his hair and asked him who it was.

"It was George," he said, taking her other hand and twining it with his. At her panicked look, he kissed her, then broke it.

"Don't worry," he said, "All he wanted to say was thank you for putting in extra hours... and" he stopped to look around at the office. Their clothes were everywhere, strung on the floor, on the desk, he stopped to see Michelle's bra hanging from the lamp. Papers were in disarray, various other things were where they weren't supposed to be.

"To clean up his office when we're done." She laughed and shook her head at him. She moved to get up then, but felt him grab her from behind.

"Where do you think you're going, ma'am?" he drawled.

She sighed, "Cleaning up- have you see this place?" She stopped to look around the room, in particularly at the lamp. "Is that my bra," she said, squinting in the darkness? He laughed, nodded against her back.

Her eyebrows shot up in humor. "Good shot," she muttered, moving to go get it. His arms still didn't move.

"Tony!" she scolded him.

He laughed. "He said to clean it when we were done, and we will." His lips turned upwards as he spun her around to meet him.

"But not until we're done." He sealed his lips over hers, and felt her sigh as he drew her down on the couch with him once again. -

The End

Hope you liked it **sigh** . Now I can go on and write more sexual tension.. please review!


End file.
